March Sadness and Humanity’s Hope

According to historians (and to William Shakespeare), Julius Caesar, the "noblest Roman of them all," was assassinated on that date. He was warned by a soothsayer to "Beware the ides of March" and avoid setting foot in the Roman Senate.

But Caesar ignored the warning. Instead, he was killed at the Theatre of Pompey, where the Roman Senate met.

Look where we are today.

This used to be a time when fans of college basketball could root for their favorite teams. The NCAA championships take place in March, which gave rise to the descriptive term "March Madness." Not this year, I'm afraid. It's morphed into something else; that is, something approaching "March Sadness," and not just for college basketball.

The NBA, or the National Basketball Association, has suspended its season. So have Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the PGA Tour, and the Masters Golf Tournament. The National Hockey League has also postponed its season, as have the XFL, the Association of Tennis Professionals, and the Women's Tennis Association. The opening run of the Formula 1 racing season has been cancelled, too. And NASCAR has moved back its opening day events by two weeks or more.

In addition to which, production of many cable television shows has been halted. The nation's museums are closed, while movie theaters' doors have been shuttered as well. Sadly, Broadway's Great White Way has dimmed its lights. And the Metropolitan Opera House has lowered its golden curtain on upcoming performances. "La commedia é finita!" the house has cried. Translation: "The play is over!"

All this because of the coronavirus outbreak. But that's not the worst of what's happened. There are lives being lost, so many families and friends are being affected; co-workers and employers, businesses and stores, loved ones and elderly relatives - all at the mercy of this unseen menace. Unable to participate in life's simple pleasures, we're about to closet ourselves away in our homes, for our own safety and for the safety of others.

Oh, and financial markets around the world have taken a nosedive. While Wall Street is wound up, we've wound our way down. Big time! We've ignored the warnings, and now the ides of March are upon us.

Despite the dour news, the final straw occurred the other day when word got out that Tom Hanks and his actress wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for the coronavirus while working on separate projects in Australia.

Oh, no, not him! Not Tom Hanks!!! Please, Lord, say it ain't so! My God, if Tom Hanks and his spouse can be hit by the coronavirus, is there any hope for humanity?

Who Ya Gonna Call?

The nation is reeling. In times of stress, who do we turn to? Who can we rely on to save us from ourselves, and from our worst impulses?

Why, the self-same Tom Hanks. That's who! Who better than filmdom's most reliable and most beloved screen actor?

So let this Sunday homily be my open invitation to Mr. Hanks:

Dear Tom,

Please excuse the directness of my approach. We need your help. Let me rephrase that: America needs your help. At this terrible moment in our country's history, when things are looking dire for all Americans - and indeed, for the world at large - only you can save us.

Now, now. Don't give me that look. You know the one I'm talking about, Tom. That clueless, wide-eyed Forrest Gump stare. I know you can do this. You've helped us out before - and you can do it again.

Take a look at your own past, Tom. See what you've been able to accomplish with your movies. Come on, Woody. Let's go over them together, okay?

In Saving Mr. Banks, you played Walt Disney (and you didn't even LOOK like Walt). As good ole Mr. Disneyland himself, you managed to convince the curmudgeonly P.L. Travers into granting your studio the movie rights to her book, Mary Poppins. Now, if you can charm P.L. Travers, then you can charm anybody.

As Forrest Gump, you FINALLY won the heart of the woman you loved, Jenny Curran. (Just between us, I thought she was undeserving of your affection, but that's me.) If you can win young Jenny's heart, you can win anybody's heart.

Jenny (Robin Wright) sits with Forrest Gump (Hanks)

As terminally ill AIDS victim Andy Beckett in Philadelphia, you won a wrongful termination suit against your former law firm - with Denzel Washington's help, of course. If you can beat your former law firm, you can beat any law firm.

In Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, as attorney James B. Donovan, you successfully negotiated a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. And you did it by staying true to your profession as a defender of your client's rights (even if that client happened to be a Soviet spy). Heck, if you can negotiate a successful prisoner exchange with the Soviet Union, you can negotiate anything. Am I right so far?

And, in Saving Private Ryan, as Captain John Miller, you practically lost your entire squad in trying to locate and bring Private James Ryan back to his mother's side. I can't help recalling, Tom, that earlier in the picture, you informed your skeptical squad members that, "This Ryan better be worth it. He better go home and cure some disease or invent a longer-lasting light bulb, or something."

Do you remember that line?

Towards the end, after Captain Miller is mortally wounded by enemy fire, he gathers what strength he has left and grabs hold of Ryan so he can hear what Miller has to say. Miller's final words to him are, "Earn this... earn it."

Captain Miller (Hanks) whispers into Private Ryan's ear

His meaning was clear: "Earn the sacrifice that my men have made in helping to save you."

Now, I know you can't cure this disease, Tom, or invent a longer-lasting light bulk, but surely you can do something, even if you're holed up in the outback. Let me make it plain, then: You can continue to encourage us by your honesty, your devotion to your craft, and the truthfulness you convey in all your movie roles. No, really, I mean it!

We need your kind of courage, Tom, more than we've ever had at any point in our recent history. We need your strength, we need your fortitude, and especially your ability to inspire - as you've done throughout your career. That calm and resolute manner you showed as astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo 13, that's what I'm talking about. I know you have it in you.

Pandora's box has been pried opened. The ills of this world have spilled out and spread a contagion called COVID-19. Help us to close the lid, Tom. Keep giving us hope that better days are ahead. Take away the sadness, help restore the madness. You and Rita can overcome this affliction, of that I am certain. In doing so, you would have fulfilled your mission - just as Captain Miller did, just as Jim Lovell did.

Tom Hanks as Astronaut Jim Lovell in 'Apollo 13'

You are humanity's last, best hope. Don't let us down in our time of need. Get back on your feet, Tom. Do it for me, and do it for America. And for the world.